BattlefieldsBothwell Bridge 1679
English Civil War

Bothwell Bridge 1679

1679
Scotland
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Covenanters
Forces
Covenanting force of c.6,000
VS
Victor
Government (Duke of Monmouth)
Forces
Government army of 10,000 under Duke of Monmouth
Outcome
Government victory; Covenanting army destroyed; 1,200 imprisoned in Greyfriars; rising ended
The Battle

History & Significance

The Battle of Bothwell Bridge on 22 June 1679 was the decisive engagement of the 1679 Covenanting Rising. The Duke of Monmouth commanded a government army of 10,000 against a Covenanting force of perhaps 6,000 divided by theological disputes. The Covenanters held the bridge briefly before being overwhelmed. About 400 were killed in the battle, 1,200 captured and imprisoned in Greyfriars churchyard Edinburgh in brutal conditions.

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